Home > Drug now approved to treat HCC, most common type of liver cancer

Generic Name:

Pembrolizumab

Trade Name:

Keytruda

Company:

Merck

Notes:

FDA approved a new indication for pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 therapy, for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who have been previously treated with sorafenib. HCC is the most common type of liver cancer in adults.

The recommended dosage for HCC is 200 mg every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

The humanized monoclonal antibody works by blocking the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes, which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.

Approval was based on data from a single-arm, open-label, multicenter trial evaluating pembrolizumab in 104 patients with HCC who had disease progression on or after sorafenib or who were intolerant to sorafenib.